1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting apparatus which ejects droplets such as ink droplets from a nozzle opening of a head. Specifically, the invention is related to a ink jet recording apparatus which records a character or an image on a sheet-like recording medium such as recording sheet and a recording film, and particularly suitable for frameless print.
2. Related Art
In a liquid ejecting apparatus such as a printer or a plotter, an ink droplet is ejected from a recording head mounted on a carriage with reciprocating movement in a main scanning direction of the carriage, while recording sheet is transported in a sub-scanning direction crossing to the main scanning direction. The ejection operation of ink droplet and the transporting operation of recording sheet are performed in connection with each other, whereby a character and an image are recorded on the recording sheet.
In such the recording apparatus, the recording sheet and the inside of the apparatus are stained with the ink droplets ejected at the outside of the recording sheet. Further, the ink droplets ejected at the outside of the recording sheet are easy to become misty. In case that this ink mist adheres to the vicinity of the nozzle opening of the recording head, the ejection of the ink droplets becomes unstable by the adhering ink mist. In order to prevent disadvantage caused by these unnecessary ink droplets, in JP-A-4-341848, a recording apparatus has been proposed in which an ink absorber that absorbs the unnecessary ink droplets ejected at the outside of the recording sheet is arranged on the backside of the recording sheet.
Further, in this kind of recording apparatus, there is an apparatus having a mode in which printing is performed throughout the entire region of the recording sheet, that is, a frameless print mode. In this frameless print mode, print data of somewhat wider range than the area of the recording apparatus is prepared and ink droplets are ejected up to the region over four sides of the recording sheet. Therefore, this recording apparatus includes the ink absorber on the backside of the recording sheet.
Regarding an ink droplet for realizing high quality of image, generally, its amount of ink must be very small, for example, 2 pL (picoliter). Since this very small amount of ink droplet receives viscosity resistance of air considerably, a distance in which the ink droplet can fly is very short. Therefore, only in case that the ink absorber in the conventional apparatus is simply provided, there is fear that a certain amount of ink droplets do not reach the ink absorber and they become misty.
Further, in case that a distance from the recording head to the ink absorber is shortened, a new trouble that the recording sheet is caught by the ink absorber when rolling traces are left in the recording sheet is produced. Therefore, only in case that the distance to the absorber is simply shortened, high quality of a recording image in the frameless print mode cannot be obtained.
In view of such the circumstances, an object of the invention is to provide a liquid ejecting apparatus which can catch and collect the necessary liquid droplets thereby to prevent occurrence of mist.
The invention is proposed in order to achieve its object. According to the first aspect of the invention, in a liquid ejecting apparatus which comprises a head that forms on a nozzle surface on which plural nozzle openings are formed, a head scanning mechanism that moves the recording head in a head scanning direction, a medium transporting mechanism that transports a recording medium in a transporting direction crossing to the head scanning direction, and a platen on which the recording medium is transported by the medium transporting mechanism and which opposes the recording medium to the nozzle surface of the head, and which ejects droplets from the nozzle openings while it is operating the head scanning mechanism and the medium transporting mechanism thereby to perform recording on the recording medium, the apparatus is characterized in that:
on the platen, plural support projections supporting the recording medium are spaced in the scanning direction of the recording head, and a liquid absorption part is disposed in a position lower than each support projection; and
the liquid absorption part includes first liquid absorbing members for front and back ends of the recording medium which are arranged on upstream and downstream sides in the transporting direction with respect to the support projections, and second liquid absorbing members for side edges of the recording medium which are arranged so as to be in parallel with the transporting direction of the recording medium.
The second liquid absorbing members are disposed at predetermined positions so that said apparatus is adapted to standardized recording mediums.
According to the second aspect of the invention, the liquid ejecting apparatus in the first aspect is characterized in that the second liquid absorbing member is formed of material different from material of the fist liquid absorbing members.
According to the third aspect of the invention, the liquid ejecting apparatus in the first aspect is characterized in that the second liquid absorbing member is constituted so that on the first liquid absorbing members extended to a downward portion of side edges of the standardized recording medium.
According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the liquid ejecting apparatus is characterized in that the side edge liquid absorbing member is formed of harder material than the material of the front and back end liquid absorbing members thereby to heighten surface accuracy.
According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the liquid ejecting apparatus in any of the first to fourth aspects is characterized in that the side edge liquid absorbing member includes asbestos.